School Board Pushes Decision About Mandatory Vaccination of District Staff to Next Week

With only a week before schools reopen for in-person classes, the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) Board of Education has yet to decide whether or not it will require vaccinations and weekly COVID-19 testing for its staff and eligible students.

During its meeting on Thursday, the Board’s Vice President Elizabeth Pomeroy said the mandatory vaccination and weekly testing issues will be included among the action items in the agenda for a meeting next week.

She made the statement after two board members, Kimberly Kenne and Tina Fredericks, tried to push the board to come up with decisions last night.

PUSD schools open on August 12.

Pomeroy — who chaired the meeting in the absence of vacationing Board President Scott Phelps — did not heed them, stressing that those matters were not on the agenda as action items and thus were precluded from voting.

“We have a lot of information and material. Perhaps we need even more and this could come before us as an action item at the next meeting,” Pomeroy said. “I think we know enough to be able to open [the schools].”

During the discussion on the agenda item, three members of the School Board expressed their support for the mandatory vaccination and weekly COVID-19 testing on campuses.

Kenne said she supports mandating all employees be vaccinated but with the option that those who are vaccine-exempt undergo weekly COVID-19 testing, to prevent transmission of the virus.

“We have to recognize [that] if there is sickness, we are going to have a lot of instability and it will be that much more difficult with kids quarantining and coming back and it will be a very disruptive school year. The more we can do to prevent it, the better,” Kenne said.

Fredericks also said she supports mandating vaccination of employees and the weekly testing in campuses for both students and staff to protect everyone, especially those under 12 who are not yet eligible for a vaccine against COVID-19.

According to PUSD data, there are at least 9,805 PUSD students who are under the age of 12.

“I have a child under 12. Do you know what it’s like when you have a family member that can’t be vaccinated? If we don’t have a vaccine mandate, I cannot be the best mom I can be. I cannot guarantee that my daughter will have a vaccinated teacher. There are at least 9,805 PUSD moms and parents out there who are in my position,” Fredericks said.

She pointed out that personal choice should only be respected if it will not affect “whether someone lives or dies.”

“If we are going to share air, your choice impacts the unvaccinated. We share air and we have to make a collective choice that makes all of us as safe as possible,” Fredericks added.

Board member Patrick Cahalan said he supports the weekly mandatory testing of staff and employees but he suggested that this should be done randomly and only for the first three or four weeks after schools reopen.

He also said requiring vaccinations not only for PUSD employees but for everyone who goes onto campuses including eligible students, as he pointed out bulk of the population in schools are students.

Aside from staff and students, Cahalan said vendors and parent volunteers regularly going to schools should also be mandated to take vaccines.

“The vaccination status of any individual employee in this district is just on the numbers, is irrelevant to the risk that your child is going to face because overwhelmingly, if they are going to get it, they probably going to get it from another kid,” he said.

Cahalan stressed the importance for school staff to get inoculated, saying they are more at risk of having severe COVID-19 cases and dying from the virus than children.

About 96 percent of PUSD staff are vaccinated to date, according to PUSD Superintendent Brian McDonald. Roughly 80 of the 2,200 employees of PUSD are still unvaccinated.

The district said 1,320 staff were vaccinated through PUSD-run vaccination clinics and an estimated 800 through appointments at Huntington Hospital in conjunction with the Pasadena Public Health Dept.

During the meeting, McDonald recommended to the Board to require weekly COVID-19 testing in PUSD schools but only for unvaccinated employees.

“I am recommending that PUSD require weekly testing of all unvaccinated employees while the transmission is at the high and substantial level. We will continue to monitor and evaluate the situation as it develops.”

McDonald opposed mandatory vaccinations, saying this could result “in many issues and complications that would affect the instructional process.”

He added that learning and cost issues would need to be addressed and negotiated first with labor unions before PUSD approves a vaccine mandate.

McDonald said the PUSD will continue to host vaccination clinics for and will continue to encourage everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated.

“We are excited to start the school year and we are confident that we can keep our students and staff safe,” McDonald said.